'I still remember the smell': Wisconsin crisis counselor visit NY every September 11 to grieve with first responders

David Richards can still remember the smell of New York one month after Sept. 11, 2001 .

“Coming up out of the subway for the first time, the stench in your nose, the burning in your throat and in your eyes. You’ll just never forget it,” he told the Irish Star Wednesday.

The Wisconsin crisis counselor watched the attacks on television at work. He soon after booked a flight to New York to help first responders come to terms with the tragedy.

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Crisis counselors help people who’ve experienced a traumatic event work through the difficult emotions that follow. He said it’s especially important for police and firefighters, as they are often exposed to trauma and rarely given the time to work through it.

“Police and firemen are a very tight knit community, and it’s very hard to break in,” he said. “It took me eight years to be called brother by the fire department and 10 for the police.”

He specifically worked with FDNY Engine 26, located at 220 W 37th St. in Midtown. The firehouse lost five members during the attack, and it still displays the radio and flag that was flying that day in memory of those they lost.

That’s where he was early in the day on Sept. 11 this year. He has come back to New York on 9/11 every year since that first time, visiting with the friends he’s made in the fire department.

By the evening, Richards sat in the corner of O’Hara’s Restaurant and Bar. The Irish pub, owned by Mike Keane, Paul Mackin and Jim Sheridan, sits across the street from Ground Zero, becoming a gathering place for first responders in the years since.

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“[The owners] here have made people feel like their home,” Richards said.

The day is mixed with celebrations of life and shared grief over those who’ve died. Richards says the attacks continue to take the lives of New Yorkers.

As the towers fell, dust containing toxic substances were expelled into the air. Now, many first responders and others in the area are suffering from illness and early death.

“It’s great to see people that you haven’t seen for a while. It’s also been sad when you hear about those that we’ve lost to 9/11-related disease.”

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